The present disclosure relates to a pullout guide for a furniture pullout part configured to be pulled out from a piece of furniture over a predefined distance.
Such pullout guides are known. It is also known from EP 0 1755 423 B1 that the spring configuration comprises two coiled springs situated parallel to one another, which changes the spring characteristic in relation to a spring configuration having only one spring.
Proceeding from this known pullout guide, the present disclosure further relates to providing an improved pullout guide, which has an advantage of improved operation and an optimized operating characteristic in relation to the prior art.
The present disclosure provides for a pullout guide for a furniture pullout part configured to be pulled out from a piece of furniture over a predefined pullout distance. The pullout guide includes a retraction device configured to retract the furniture pullout part at least over a portion of the predefined pullout distance. The retraction device includes a spring configuration having a first spring and a second spring connected in parallel with respect to each other. Each of the first and second springs includes a different spring characteristic curve than the other spring. Each of the first and second springs may include a different force-distance characteristic acting in a pullout direction of the pullout guide. The present disclosure also provides for a retraction device for a pullout guide for a furniture pullout part that is configured to be pulled out from a piece of furniture over a predefined pullout distance. The retraction device includes a spring configuration configured to retract the furniture pullout part over at least a portion of the predefined pullout distance. The spring configuration includes a first and a second spring connected in parallel with respect to each other and each of the first and second springs includes a different spring characteristic curve than the other spring. The spring configuration may also include a first and a second spring connected in parallel with respect to each other and each of the first and second springs include a different force-distance characteristic acting in a pullout direction of the pullout guide.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure and as noted above, the spring configuration has at least two springs connected in parallel to one another having different spring characteristic curves.
Further, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure and as noted above, the spring configuration has at least two springs connected in parallel to one another having different force-distance characteristics acting in the pullout direction.
The present disclosure also relates to a retraction device for a pullout guide for a furniture pullout part that is configured to be pulled out from a piece of furniture over a predefined pullout distance. The retraction device includes a spring configuration configured to retract the furniture pullout part over at least a portion of the predefined pullout distance. The spring configuration includes a first spring and a second spring connected in parallel with respect to each other and each of the first and second springs includes a different spring characteristic curve than the other spring. The spring configuration may include a first and a second spring connected in parallel with respect to each other and each of the first spring and second spring includes a different force-distance characteristic acting in a pullout direction of the pullout guide.
The embodiments of the present disclosure provide, in a simple way, a more uniform force-distance curve during opening and also during closing of the furniture pullout part, for example, a drawer. This results in more uniform, pleasant handling and optimized operation. This result is achieved, for example, by a parallel connection of different springs, for example, a tension spring and a torsion spring. These springs may have, for example, contrary spring characteristic curves when the effective horizontal force is observed.
A first spring, for example, may be a coiled spring which acts as a tension or compression spring during retraction of the furniture pullout part. This is known, according to the prior art, for implementing self retractor devices, since it can be housed compactly and is well suitable for causing or at least supporting the retraction of the drawer.
The second spring, for example, may be designed as a torsion spring which acts as a tension or compression spring during retraction of the furniture pullout part. A torsion spring is suitable for the purpose of advantageously supplementing or changing the force-distance characteristic of the first spring. In addition, it is cost-effectively producible and can be integrated extremely simply in the retraction device, without its fundamental structure having to be noticeably changed.
The torsion spring, for example, comprises a spring steel wire, which may have a rectangular or round cross-section.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first spring is designed in such a way that the retraction force of the first spring decreases over its active retraction distance with the retraction of the drawer. In addition, it is then expedient if the retraction force of the second spring increases over a part of the retraction distance with the retraction of the drawer, or if the retraction force of the second spring is initially negative over its active retraction distance, that is, the force of the tension spring decreases somewhat, that is, not excessively strongly, and then increases with the retraction of the drawer. The retraction force of the second spring corresponds to its horizontal force component. Furthermore, for example, for a fixing on two points, individual areas of the second spring can advantageously be equipped with different spring characteristic curves, similarly to a constant force spring. Therefore, through targeted change of these individual spring characteristic curves, a desired force-distance characteristic of the second spring can be achieved. For a fixing on two points, the traveling “torsion shaft” resulting because of the sliding movement of the pin on the slide is to be located in front of the pin. It is within the scope of the present disclosure that the retraction force of the second spring is initially negative over its effective retraction distance and then increases with the retraction of the drawer when the “bending shaft” is initially located behind and later in front of the pin of the slide.
Furthermore, it is within the scope of the present disclosure to make the second spring two-armed and attached symmetrically to the housing, in order to counteract possible tilting of the slide.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the springs are designed such that the resulting retraction force from the parallel connection in the retraction direction remains constant, or, for example, nearly constant, over the entire retraction distance, which results an advantageous movement behavior.
Furthermore, the following features, according to the present disclosure, contribute individually or in combination to advantageous movement behavior:
the design is such that the force of the torsion spring on the slide has a horizontal component and a vertical component;
the design is such that the vertical force component decreases over the retraction distance;
the design is such that the horizontal force component increases in the retraction direction over the retraction distance;
the design is such that the torsion spring only exerts a vertical force on the slide at the beginning of the retraction distance; and
the design is such that the torsion spring only exerts a horizontal force on the slide at the end of the retraction distance.
Additional features according to the present disclosure are discussed herein and stated in the accompanying claims.
Other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following descriptions when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.